May's Garden (2025)

The word to describe this month's garden is "disarray".  It has been one storm right after another.  Everything that has gotten planted between the showers is growing rapidly along with the weeds.

Hubby is continuing to work on putting up the fence around the garden. We didn't anticipate needing to buy fencing supplies during a worldwide, tariff trade war. Finding what we need hasn't been easy. Each store has different parts in stock and the prices have varied widely. 

The boundary line has been moved back and forth due to newly discovered underground boulders. Every dig has brought a new surprise. It has extended the garden and made it larger.

And if all of that wasn't enough, we awoke after a violent storm this week to three huge sagging trees precariously balanced over our driveway blocking us in. Forget any deliveries or friends visiting.

A tree trimming company explained the trees are entwined over the driveway and are pushing against each other. To safely remove them would require each one to be tied to a piece of heavy equipment like a bulldozer to avoid a sling shot motion when cut. It would take a large crew and much equipment. The price to do this was astronomical. 

We decided to let Mother Nature safely drop the trees wherever she wants and whenever she is ready. It will certainly be a surprise and will probably happen at the most inconvenient time. The driveway will be blocked for days, our neighbor's fence under the trees will be destroyed so his cows will pay us another visit. (Our grass is much greener than theirs). Our field fence beside the driveway will be smashed and I expect to have to chase down our horses but, oh well, when has life ever been easy?   

It was quite a bit of hard work but Bill was able to carefully clear the lowest branch so the drive can be used. Tomorrow, after it stops raining, we are getting out for the first time in days and going somewhere, anywhere. Hopefully, we will be able to find some fencing supplies and then, we can get back to the garden. I'm not complaining. Really. Someday when we least expect it, we will have enough firewood fall into our laps to keep us warm for many winters. Well, of course, after we work ourselves half to death sawing it apart. 

Last Month's April Garden (2025)

Last Year's May Garden (2024)

April's Garden (2025)

 

A big success this month! The Unzen Early Flat onions all matured far ahead of the others that were started from seed at the same time. They were surrounded by spinach and survived inside the hoop house with no problems. Since they grew on land that would have lain fallow all winter, no garden space was wasted - now, the row is available for spring crops. It is perfect timing because the other storage onions have been used. This crop will be doubled come fall.

The Unzen Early Flat are best eaten fresh, have a mild, sweet flavor and we love them. They are similar to the Georgia Vidalia Onions who get their special flavor due to the soil and weather conditions in that area. It is true. I tried growing the seeds in my garden but they tasted like regular onions. Unzen did just fine in my soil.

The newly created drying rack has been pressed into service. It will be interesting to see if they store long but I suspect everything will be eaten very soon.

It appears the onion bulbs purchased from the store last spring, kept in the refrigerator and planted in the fall might be the next to mature. They still seem to be quite a distance from being ready.

As for the rest of the garden, everything is moving along. We are hoeing and planting as fast as we can but the weeds are growing like, well, just like weeds!  

 Every day I try to plant a few seeds, pull a few weeds, pick something to use, and water whatever is wilting. We are making progress.

Last Month's March Garden (2025)

Last Year's April Garden (2024)

March's Garden (2025)

 

Everything left from the winter garden has awaken and sprung to life. We too, have been enjoying the sunshine and warmth. The hummingbirds arrived today which is two weeks ahead of schedule! Spring feels early and we are loving it.

The winter garden is rapidly maturing. The Swiss Chard tasted so much better this past winter that it will no longer be grown during the summer. Planting it in the fall will save effort watering it during droughts.

This month's garden is nothing compared to last year's March's garden (2024) when I canned 52 quarts of greens for Reese; but, I have been able to do it again even with a smaller garden! He will be shocked when he comes home on vacation. It is much more than he can use but it will fill his pantry. He has seen how some years are plentiful and others are sparse. It is best to get what you can because it might not be there the next time.

Last month, I bragged about how much this bed of onions had grown and how big they were since they were the first seeds started last fall - now, every single one has bolted. It appears starting them earlier wasn't a good idea after all. 

The onions in the spinach bed were started a few weeks later than the bolting onion bed and have already begun forming bulbs. Finding the correct planting date for my garden is essential. Some are going to be allowed to go to seed to see what nature thinks is best. The day the first seed falls to the ground will be the magical planting date marked on the calendar.

Potatoes will be planted this month. Those that sprouted in the pantry along with the ones that were newly purchased are sitting on the porch soaking up the sun.

Some of the Red Pontiac have already begun forming little potatoes. They are definitely ready to be planted!

We have big plans for the garden this year. We are adding a little more area, focusing only on our favorites and will be installing a tall fence. The critters  have become too prolific as multiple large subdivisions are springing up all around us and forcing the wildlife into our area. Inflation won't be slowing anytime soon so we are going to get as much as possible from our garden. 

Last Month's February Garden (2025)

Last Year's March Garden (2024)

Swarmed!

February's Garden (2025)

The garden is quite bare, but it is the end of February. Just the fact that somethings have survived is amazing to me. I always marvel that winter gardening is possible - it's tricky but can be done. Finding information the first time I tried it was almost impossible. Most knowledge has come from trial and error. This year has been no exception. I have learned so much.

Growing more spinach was a goal this winter. Four beds were planted but only two survived after repeat plantings. We got enough but could have enjoyed more. Next year will be better because of all I learned.

• Don't plant the seeds when the ground is hot; which, of course, will vary from year to year. Last year the soil didn't cool down until a month later than normal causing me to lose many seeds. 
• Stick with the tried and true dependable Bloomsdale. The newly purchased varieties (due to being out of seeds) didn't perform as well.
• Even though they went out later than years past, they made up for lost time by growing faster.
• The colder it became, the better the flavor. Some leaves actually tasted sweet when nibbled in the garden but the sweetness disappeared after harvesting. They were delicious but not worth sitting on a frozen stool in sleeting snow picking one dirty leaf at a time with numb fingers.
• Now that the sun has returned, the plants are growing rapidly.  Almost every plant was stripped down to two leaves a week ago.

These are the onion bulbs that were purchased last spring and stored in my refrigerator all summer long. They out lived those in this row that were started from seed in late September.

These were started in late August and have done much better.

Growing onions during the winter is my goal because there is plenty of space available. They can be easily stored, dehydrated, pickled, canned or frozen making room for other spring crops.

• All onions must be put under hoop houses. They need the extra protection. It is easy to plant them and forget them because weeds can't grow fast enough to cover them.
• Purchasing the bulbs in the spring and storing them in the refrigerator was the way to go. They were stronger and able to better withstand the elements.
• This year, if I start any from seeds, the instructions will be ignored. They will be started much earlier, probably around the first of August. The extra time is needed for growth. 
• Planting onions with spinach and mulching with leaves worked the best as in the picture below. Leaves are better than grass clippings because the spinach stays cleaner.

Swiss Chard must, absolutely must be under covers. Every plant in this row that was outside of the too short hoop house is gone.

Another valuable lesson learned is that plants need more nutrition during brutal cold weather. 

The leaves of the collard greens became a pale light green. After they were given a nitrogen boost, the new leaves turned a healthy dark green. Below, the outer leaves are still light green but the new growth is darker. The unhealthy leaves will be deadheaded so the nutrition will flow to the new leaves.  

Not everything was a success. Only one broccoli survived. Finding a better variety is necessary.

Two winters ago carrots were planted under covers and in the open to see if the hoop houses helped. In or out made no difference so this year none were covered. All died! Every single little carrot is gone! Last year's February (2024) garden was amazing compared to this year. I tried just as hard but the results have been completely different. 

Even though there were quite a few failures, there were more than enough successes to make winter gardening worth the effort. Everything about it is different from summer gardening. It is like gardening on another planet. We had enough fresh greens for meals and were able to share with others. Overall, I am thrilled with the success and decree WINTER IS OVER! Let the spring planting begin.

Last Months January Garden (2025)

Last Year's February Garden (2024)

January's Garden (2025)

 

It has been a wild winter and we still aren't half way through! There have been three back-to-back polar vortices ("vortexes" in the south) which caused the temperatures to drop into single digits for days. This has been unprecedented for my zone 7a area. The garden has been slammed. Most of the plants are gone or are barely holding on for dear life. The pictures look bad and it doesn't look much better in person.

 

This garden looks pitiful compared to last year's garden.

It warmed up to 61(f) degrees yesterday which is crazy for January. We uncovered all the beds since there will be a few days of warmth. The leaves have turned a pale yellowish green which is a sign of low nitrogen. They need more nutrition. Never has there been a need to feed anything in the middle of winter but this year, as usual, everything is different.  It seems the high winds and bitter cold have caused them to be stressed.

The beets look dead but the roots are fine. Now that the ground has thawed enough to dig, all will be harvested.

The spinach bed was in a semi decent condition.

The Collard greens were the palest green I have ever seen. 

Collards are one of the hardiest cold weather vegetables and a few have done a good job surviving. 

Nothing in the garden was healthy enough to pick. There is no need eating anything that is probably low in nutrition. After a few days of warm weather, sunshine and fertilizer, everything should perk up. The garden could roar back to health or it might all die. Winter gardens are like that. I'm not shocked. Considering I'm trying to do the impossible - garden in the dead of winter - it is amazing anything is growing. I'll take any wins I can get.

Last Month's December Garden (2024)
Last Year's January Garden (2024)